What is Upekkha Meditation?
Upekkha (Pali: upekkhā) is the Buddhist concept of equanimity. As one of the brahmaviharas or “virtues of the Brahma realm,” it is one of the wholesome mental factors cultivated on the Buddhist path to nirvana through the practice of jhāna. Upekkha refers to a profound quality of strength and evenness of mind undisturbed by emotional upheavals. To practice upekkha is to be unwavering or to stay neutral in the face of the “eight worldly conditions”: loss and gain, good-repute and ill-repute, praise and censure, and sorrow and happiness. Unlike passive indifference, the real meaning of upekkha is equanimity, not indifference in the sense of unconcern for others. As a spiritual virtue, upekkha means stability in the face of the fluctuations of worldly fortune.
Origins & Lineage
The brahmavihāra is a pre-Buddhist Brahminical concept, to which the Buddhist tradition gave its interpretation. Many passages in the Pali Canon and post-canonical commentaries identify upekkhā as an important aspect of spiritual development. The Buddha taught upekkha as the fourth of the four divine abodes (brahmaviharas), alongside metta (loving-kindness), karuna (compassion), and mudita (sympathetic joy). The Brahmavihāra practices are explained in “The Path of Purification” (Visuddhimagga), written in the fifth century CE by the scholar and commentator Buddhaghosa.
As a Brahmavihara, it is also one of the forty traditionally identified subjects of Buddhist meditation (kammaṭṭhāna). In the Theravada list of ten pāramī (perfections), upekkha is the last-identified bodhisatta practice, and in the Seven Factors of Awakening (bojjhanga), it is the ultimate characteristic to develop. In the commentaries of the Atthasālinī and the Visuddhimagga, Bhikkhu Buddhaghosa defines equanimity in ten different ways.
How It’s Practiced
In the Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga), it is instructed that practitioners reflect on the phrase, “All beings are owners of their kamma,” when doing the meditation on equanimity. They are often practiced by taking each of the “Immeasurables” in turn and applying it to oneself, wishing oneself well (omitted while training oneself in mudita), and then to others nearby, and so on to everybody in the world, and to everybody in all universes.
Practitioners typically begin with grounding in mindfulness of breath and body, then extend equanimous awareness to categories of people: oneself (in some traditions), a benefactor or respected figure, a neutral person, a difficult person, and finally all beings. Words such as “Upekkha, Upekkha,” “Equanimity, Equanimity,” “Cool, calm, peaceful, easy, relaxed” may be repeated. The mind becomes peaceful and equanimous just staying with the vipassana objects and occasionally repeating those few words softly and gently.
In the description of meditative samādhi, upekkhā is present in the third and fourth jhāna. A jhana is a deep state of meditative absorption. While equanimity is present in all the four jhanas, it is in the third jhana that its presence first becomes conspicuous as the rapture of the second jhana fades away. Meditation practice develops equanimity in two ways. The first is by steadying the energy of mind. This comes around through calm, mental unification whereby the process of focusing the mind on one theme unifies, smoothes and strengthens its energy.
Upekkha Meditation Today
Contemporary seekers encounter upekkha meditation through several channels. In Theravada retreat centers worldwide, it is taught as the culminating brahmavihara practice, typically after students have worked with metta, karuna, and mudita. Vipassana meditation centers in the tradition of S.N. Goenka and other lineages incorporate equanimity as central to insight practice. Western Insight Meditation teachers including Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, and Sharon Salzberg have introduced upekkha to secular audiences through retreat offerings and recorded teachings.
Online platforms such as Insight Timer and Wildmind offer guided upekkha meditations, while organizations like Spirit Rock Meditation Center and Insight Meditation Society include it in their curriculum. Books including Bhikkhu Bodhi’s translations of the Pali Canon, “The Four Immeasurables” by Alan Wallace, and teachings by contemporary monastics make the practice accessible to home practitioners. The Brahma Vihara practices have also been adapted in interfaith contexts; the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement uses them in public meditation events in Sri Lanka bringing together Buddhists, Hindu, Muslims, and Christians.
Common Misconceptions
In post-canonical text, the “far enemies” of upekkhā are greed and resentment driven by desire and anger, which are mind-states that are in obvious opposition. The “near enemy”, the quality which superficially resembles upekkhā but which subtly opposes it, is indifference or apathy. The most persistent confusion is that equanimity means detachment from caring. Equanimity is not indifferent to the experience of suffering of self or others. Instead, one observes to see if there is a possibility to intervene and reduce the suffering of others.
Upekkha is not emotional suppression or stoic withdrawal. It’s important to remember that “even-mindedness” (or equanimity) is actually “even-minded love” or “equanimous love” and isn’t a state of uncaring. It is not resignation to injustice or passive acceptance of harm. True equanimity remains actively engaged while maintaining inner stability.
Some traditions teach that upekkha should be practiced only after substantial development of metta, karuna, and mudita, to prevent it from collapsing into cold neutrality. The practice does not eliminate preference or discernment; rather, it frees the practitioner from compulsive reactivity to changing circumstances.
How to Begin
Beginners should establish a foundation in mindfulness meditation before attempting upekkha as a dedicated practice. Start with metta (loving-kindness) meditation to develop warmth and connection, then move to compassion and sympathetic joy practices. This sequence prevents equanimity from becoming sterile.
For practical instruction, consult Buddhaghosa’s “Visuddhimagga” (translated by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli as “The Path of Purification”), which offers canonical guidance. Bhikkhu Bodhi’s “In the Buddha’s Words” provides Pali Canon source texts with commentary. For contemporary Western approaches, Sharon Salzberg’s “Lovingkindness” and Gil Fronsdal’s teachings through AudioDharma offer accessible entry points.
Guided meditations on platforms like Insight Timer or Dharma Seed allow practitioners to experience the structure before practicing independently. Attending a residential retreat with teachers trained in the Theravada or Insight Meditation traditions provides immersive instruction. The practice deepens through consistency—regular daily sits of 20-30 minutes—rather than intensity.